The once and future Flash
by Stand with Ward and Queen
Summary: Sequel to 'An Impulsive revelation'. As Barry and Patty attempt to move on from the past and create a future for Nora and themselves, Barry and Team Flash reel from Barry's future self who vanished appearing in the present. And all the while, an unseen enemy lurks in the shadows, plotting his move.
1. The beginning

**Wow, I was honestly not expecting to wait so long before I started this. If anyone is still reading, here's the first chapter of the sequel. **

Star Labs

Afternoon

Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, Ralph, and Nora all stared at their guest, who looked at them sheepishly.

"Maybe I should start from the end," their guest, a second Barry Allen said before pausing. "On second thought, it's probably better I start from the beginning."

Central City, several days earlier

Morning

Barry raced through town, as he did every morning before work. It had been a few days since Patty had come back to town and things were going alright. He was still pretty much living at Star Labs until he could find a place of his own, but he still got to see Baby Nora. Adult Nora was slowly adjusting to having her mother back in her life, which wasn't easy for her. Nor was it easy for Patty to adjust to the fact that her baby was an adult, but the two were surely, if slowly, making progress.

As he was running through town, he noticed a cat stuck up a tree and a young girl standing on the base of the tree. With a chuckle, Barry sped up the tree, grabbed the cat, and sped down, stopping in front of the girl, cat in hand.

"I believe this is yours?" Barry said as he held the cat out to the girl.

"Sunshine! Thanks Mr. Flash!" the girl said as she took her cat back.

"No problem. I hate to chase and run, but I really gotta go," Barry said before speeding off.

From a short distance away, on a bench, 2024 Barry Allen lowered the newspaper from his face slightly, frowning as he eyed the spot where the Flash had been, deep in thought.

Central City Police Department

Later in the morning

After changing into regular clothes, Barry entered the precinct. He was about to head up to the lab when he saw Singh talking to Patty, to his surprise.

"Barry, glad I caught you," Singh said as he spotted Barry, gesturing him over.

"Hey, what's going on?" Barry asked as he reached them.

"Meet your new partner," Singh said, surprising Barry.

"I know I should have told you, but I applied for a job here as a CSI," Patty said apologetically.

"We just got done with her interview. Needless to say, it went well," Singh said before looking back and forth between them. "Can I trust you two to be professional about all this? I don't you two to let whatever happened between you two getting in the way of your jobs."

"We'll be fine Captain," Barry quickly assured him.

Singh regarded them calmly for a moment before nodding, apparently satisfied with what he saw.

"Welcome back Allen. Sorry about you and Iris," Singh said before he turned and walked the other way.

"I know I should have told you about this before," Patty started but Barry held up his hands.

"Patty, it's fine. Really," Barry said when he saw the skeptical look on her face. "We're not married; you don't have to tell me everything."

"No, but we do share a daughter," Patty pointed out and Barry nodded.

"We do, but we're clearly still learning the ropes of this co-parenting thing. So, let's make a deal: from now, with anything that could majorly affect our lives, we run it by each other. Deal?" Barry offered.

"Deal," Patty said with a smile, relieved Barry had taken this so well.

Barry nodded before making his way to his lab, Patty following behind him. In truth, working with the woman he loved who had never actually said whether she loved him or not was probably going to be awkward. But Patty had given up her entire life in Midway to move back here so he could continue being The Flash. He had no intention of making Patty feel like he was being ungrateful for the sacrifices she had made. He still had so much he needed to make up for, Barry mused.

West House

Same time

Nora looked at all the boxes Joe had assembled in the attic as he laid them out on the living room table.

"So, what is all this stuff?" Nora asked.

"This is everything from your dad's childhood, before he moved in with me and Iris," Joe said, to Nora's surprise. "After he was sentenced your grandfather, Henry, sent this to me, said he wanted it to be close to Barry instead of gathering dust in a storage unit."

"You still thought he was a murderer back then," Nora noted and Joe nodded with a wince. "Why'd you do it if you thought he was guilty?"

"For your dad mostly. I knew he'd probably want to look at it someday. I thought it would be better if was here rather than a dusty storage unit," Joe explained.

"So why are you taking it out now?" Nora asked confused.

"I figured he might finally want to look at it," Joe said, surprising Nora.

"You mean he never…" Nora trailed off as Joe nodded.

"Not in all the years he's lived here, or the ones after," Joe said, to her shock. "I guess it was just too painful for him."

"What makes you think he'll want to look at it now?" Nora asked curiously.

"You," Joe said as he looked at her. "You and your mother. Every time I see all of you together, I see some of the pain he's carried around for all these years starting to go away. Well, not go away, he'll always carry it with him, but it's like he's finally starting to let it all go. Maybe now…maybe now that he has you and your mother in his life, he can finally move forward with it. Move on from the past. And enjoy the present."

As Nora mused on Joe's words, neither of them noticed a man on the sidewalk, looking inside the window at them. He stayed there for a moment before he turned and walked away, out of view. Once he was passed the window, he sped away at super speed, the gust of wind he produced making leaves on the ground blow into the street.

**I'm not sure how often I will update, so for now, I hope you enjoyed this. **


	2. Someday

**This chapter isn't as long as I hoped it would be but next chapter will be longer, as the plot will get moving after this.**

**Guest 1: I didn't forget. Patty is not a member of Team Flash and her relationship with Barry is on pretty uncertain ground at the moment. Unlike Iris, she is not as egotistically or entitled enough to believe being in a relationship with Barry or being the mother of his child is leeway to barge into Star Labs like she owns the place. Glad to hear it. **

**Guest 2: At the moment, future Barry will almost always be referred to as 2024 Barry until he meets Team Flash officially. **

Central City Police Department

Mid-Morning

"Wow," Patty said as she followed Barry into the lab, shocked to see all the boxes lying around.

"So I'm a little behind," Barry said sheepishly.

"I'd say more than a little," Patty muttered.

"With everything that's been going on, catching up on work hasn't exactly been a priority," Barry said and Patty nodded in understanding.

"Well, there are two of us now," Patty said and Barry nodded.

"Yeah, I guess there is," Barry said, wondering if she was talking about the cases or Nora. "Let's get started."

Central City

Afternoon

In a rundown apartment, the only thing he could really afford right now, 2024 Barry looked at the wall. Assembled on the wall were pictures of Team Flash, plus Patty and Nora, both the younger and the adult. He had spent the last few days watching them, gathering information on them and this earth he was on. From what he could gather, this earth was identical to his own with one crucial difference: he and Patty had a daughter.

Finding that out had certainly thrown him for a loop. He and Iris had always wanted kids, but it had never been in the cards for them. It had crushed them both when Iris had learned she couldn't have children, a consequence of many Meta attacks. Barry had suggested adoption but Iris had refused. It had certainly put a strain on their marriage, a strain they were still trying to overcome when the crisis had happened and Barry had found himself on this new earth.

Shaking his head, 2024 Barry looked at the picture of the adult Nora. He was confused about this woman who had speed and had the name of his mother all the while bearing an uncanny resemblance to Patty. Was she a sister, he wondered? Maybe a cousin, he mused. Either way, he needed all the facts before he approached them for help.

Central City Police Department

Same time

"You know what sounds good right now?" Patty said randomly as she and Barry went through the files of cases.

"If you say toaster pastry, I'm asking for a new partner," Barry joked and she smiled sheepishly. "Please tell me our daughter didn't inherit your obsession with those things."

"I don't think so. I offered one to Nora, Big Nora, and she looked at me like I offered her drugs," Patty said and Barry laughed. "It's not funny!"

"It kind of is," Barry said with a laugh and, despite herself, Patty laughed with him.

"I missed this," Patty said after a moment. "Just us, talking. I could never talk to anyone the way I could talk to you."

"I know the feeling. Patty, you know how I feel. But, whatever happens between us, I hope we can at least remain friends," Barry said and Patty was silent for a moment.

"Barry, I'm not saying no, that we'll never be together. But I spent two years thinking you didn't want us…want me. I need time," Patty said gently.

"But someday?" Barry asked hopefully and Patty tried to find the words.

"I hope that someday…I'll be ready to let you back in," Patty said and Barry nodded.

"Look, I told you how I felt about you, that's not gonna change. When you're ready…I'll be here," Barry promised and Patty looked away, her stomach doing summersaults at his words.

Star Labs

Not long after

2024 Barry made his way into Star Labs, heading towards the time vault. At least he hoped that the time vault was on this earth as well. As he rounded the corner, he nearly ran smack dab into Cisco.

"Hey, I thought you were at work today," Cisco said as they stopped themselves from colliding, mistaking 2024 Barry for Barry.

"I am, was," 2024 Barry corrected, trying to play it cool. "The Captain let me off early."

"Oh," Cisco said as he eyed his friend, feeling something off. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Just been a long week," 2024 Barry said truthfully and Cisco nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I get it. First your daughter from the future shows up and then you find out Iris knew and kept her from you," Cisco said and saw the shocked look cross his friend's face. "What's up with you?"

"Just…hearing you say it hits me all over again," 2024 Barry muttered, trying to absorb the shock.

Cisco stared at him; feeling like something was off before deciding that he was just being paranoid.

"Well, if you need me, I'll be in my workshop," Cisco said before he headed down the hall.

2024 Barry nodded absently, letting out a breath. So that's why Iris was gone, because she had kept Nora from this Barry.

Pushing it out of his mind, he made his way to what he hoped was the time vault. Pressing his hand on the key, 2024 Barry sighed in relief as the door opened. Entering the room, he walked over to the control panel and pressed a button.

"Greetings Barry Allen," Gideon said as her holographic head appeared in front of him. "How may I be of assistance?"

"I need you to tell me everything you know about this Team Flash. I need to know if I can trust them…I need to know where I am," 2024 Barry said with a sigh. "Then, maybe I can find my way home."


	3. The message

**I apologize that it has been so long again, I got preoccupied with other stories and ran into a bit of writers block. But I am going to try to update more often now. For now, I hope you guys enjoy this. **

**Guest 1: Yep, he is. Poor future Barry indeed.**

**Guest 2: Because he doesn't know where he is. Only a novice makes a plan before knowing all the facts.**

**Guest 3: Wow, thank you. Hope I don't disappoint. **

Mercury Labs

Morning

Barry stood in a scene that was eerily familiar to him. Barry was with Patty, checking out a crime scene. Several security guards had been murdered last night while on watch. And just like before, the blood spatter, the wounds were consistent with a head on collusion.

"I've never seen something like this outside a car wreck," Patty muttered.

"I have," Barry said and she looked over at him. "With Thawne and Zoom."

"You think a speedster did this?" Patty asked.

"I don't see what else could have done this," Barry said as Joe walked up to them.

"I just spoke to the witnesses," Joe started.

"Let me guess, all they saw was a blur," Barry guessed and Joe nodded.

"Looks like we have another evil speedster in town," Joe said grimly.

Central City

Same time

In his hotel room, 2024 Barry laid on his back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. It had been two days since he had visited Star Labs and discovered that he was not on another earth at all, he was in the past. But things were different, Iris had left town. Patty was back and, somehow, they had a daughter. Nora. Something had happened, somehow the timeline had changed. Barry had to figure out what was going before he could decide to make a move.

With a sigh, 2024 Barry sat up in bed and grabbed the remote off the nightstand, flicking on the TV. There was a news report on.

"Breaking, late last night, a break in at Mercury Labs resulted in the deaths of several security guards. Curiously, no weapons were fired. Captain David Singh of the Central City Police could not be reached for comment."

2024 Barry sat up in bed, staring at the screen in horror. This had certainly not happened last time around. And the way they were described, Mercury Labs…perhaps it was time he paid a visit to the precinct.

Star Labs

Mid-Morning

"Blur kills a bunch of security guards at Mercury Labs but doesn't steal anything? Anyone else getting a major case of déjà vu?" Cisco asked as Barry explained everything to him, Caitlin, Ralph and Nora.

"It's just like four years ago when Thawne broke into Mercury Labs. And the similarities don't end there," Barry said. "The floor they were on was the same floor where Doctor McGee kept the Tachyons four years ago."

"So some speedster recreated a crime scene from four years ago? Why would they do that?" Nora asked confused.

"They might be a new speedster who found out about the tachyons and were hoping they would still be there," Caitlin suggested.

"But still, why go through all the trouble of recreating the crime scene? It doesn't sense," Ralph pointed out.

"Dad? What are you thinking?" Nora asked, noticing that Barry had been silent.

"I think this is some kind of message. To who, I don't know. But either way, we need to find out what it is and more importantly, whose sending it," Barry said grimly.

Central City Police Department

Same time

2024 Barry walked up the stairs towards his old lab, glad he had been able to do this while his counterpart was at Star Labs. Making his way towards the doorway to his lab, he paused, staring at Patty as she worked.

It had been close to a decade since he had laid eyes on her. In all that time, or rather a few years, she seemed to have grown even more beautiful in his opinion. She still bit her lower lip when she was focusing on something that irked her, he noticed.

"Hey," Patty said as she looked up and noticed him. "How'd things go at Star Labs?"

"Fine, as fine as can be expected," 2024 Barry lied as he walked into the lab. "Ralph actually wants a file on our findings, so I'm here to pick one up."

Patty nodded, picking up a file off the desk and handing it to him.

"Thanks," he said as he took it before an awkward silence descended on them. "Well, I should be heading back to Star Labs."

"Barry, are you okay?" Patty asked as she looked at him oddly. "You seem…I don't know, nervous."

"Yeah, I'm fine. This whole thing with Mercury Labs it just...it has me on edge. But I'll be fine," 2024 Barry assured her, hoping she would buy it.

From the look on her face, she didn't. But, thankfully, she did not push the issue. She just nodded before getting back to work. Too relieved to say anything, 2024 Barry walked out, knowing he had to look over his file.

Mercury Labs

Same time

"It's good to see you Mr. Allen," Tina McGee said as Barr walked into her office. "Although I wish it were under better circumstances."

"So do I Dr. McGee," Barry said, shaking her hand. "Is there anything that a speedster could have wanted to break into your lab for?"

"I can't say so. After Zoom's army invaded the city, I shut down the research into Tachyons once I realized what a monster like Zoom could do with them. There are some advanced technology Mercury Labs is working on, but I'm at a loss as to what use they could be if another Zoom is in town," Dr. McGee said, to Barry's frustration.

Hotel

Night

2024 Barry was going through the file for the millionth time, the pit of dread that had formed in his stomach ready to swallow him whole. No matter how he looked at it, it all spelled out the same. 2024 Barry had not come to this new timeline alone. In a fit of frustration, he tossed the file across the room and went to stand by the window, trying to calm down. As he looked up, he froze.

Visible from his window, a figure that was as familiar to him as his own face, one that had haunted his nightmares as a child, stood on a rooftop of a building several feet away. The Reverse Flash watched him for a moment before speeding down to the ground below. Angrily, 2024 Barry activated his Flash Ring and changed into his suit before speeding out of the hotel. He met Thawne in an alley, glaring at him.

"You broke into Mercury Labs, killed all those people. Why?" he demanded and Thawne only laughed.

"If you wanna know that, you'll have to catch me," Thawne taunted.

It was not lost on Barry that this was the same line Thawne had used when he'd first appeared to him almost ten years earlier. Thawne took off and 2024 Barry was hot on his tails. They raced through the city and even as he raced after his enemy, 2024 Barry was struck with the strangest sense of déjà vu. As they finally stopped, he realized why. Thawne had led him all the way back to the football stadium they had fought at ten years earlier.

"You love your theatrics don't you?" he said sarcastically and Thawne laughed.

"As I told you so many years ago, we've been at this a long time," Thawne said, pulling back his cowl to reveal the face of Harrison Wells. "And we are destined to continue to do it until the end of time."

Angrily, 2024 Barry rushed at him but Thawne turned and ran. They raced through the stadium, from the inside out before they raced back onto the field. Suddenly, Thawne turned around and stuck 2024 Barry in the abdomen, sending him down to the ground.

"Not fast enough Flash," Thawne mocked, yet another use of dialogue he had used ten years earlier.

Enraged, 2024 Barry got to his feet and attempted to rush Thawne but Thawne sped out of the way, grabbing 2024 Barry's arm and threw him to the floor.

"All those years of peace, of stopping a Meta here and there, it's made you weak Barry," Thawne taunted him, sending a kick to 2024 Barry's abdomen and he cried out in pain. "I confess that I'm disappointed, you're hardly even a challenge. Which is why the message was never for you."

"It was for the Barry of this timeline," 2024 Barry said as the realization hits him.

"Like you, I've been here for a week and in that time, I've studied him. He is not like you, controlled by Iris. He's even cut her out of his life, become a stronger hero for it. He'll be a challenge," Thawne said with a smirk.

"You stay away from him!" 2024 Barry shouted, jumping to his feet as he got to his feet, attempting to rush Thawne.

But Thawne stepped out of the way, grabbed 2024 Barry by the neck, and slammed him to the ground, face first.

"This seems familiar, doesn't it?" Thawne mocked further and Barry almost growled. "You can't stop me Barry. Just like you couldn't stop me from killing your mother."

Thawne let him go and sped off, disappearing into the night. 2024 Barry sat up, looking around as he breathed heavily. Thawne was gone, and he would be after the Barry Allen of this timeline. And he wasn't sure whether he could stop him or not.

**So, Thawne from Crisis is here and he's calling out Barry. I think you can all imagine this won't end well for anyone. **


End file.
